As most pundits anticipated this week since his travel scandal broke, Sec. Price got the Apprentice Treatment today. Of course, Dumpster can have all the scandals he wants. But the underlings get thrown under the bus, since it can't possibly the Boss's fault.

" 'Individual conscience' means that women only get contraceptives if their employers, their physicians, their pharmacists, their husbands and/or fathers, pastors, and possibly their mayors, Governors, State Secretaries of Health, Congressmen, Senators, and President all agree that in that particular case they're justifiable." --D.C. Sessions

"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."

"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer

""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer

Charlie Sykes isn’t the only person to recognize that the Republican Party has gone batshit crazy, but in many ways he’s one of the more interesting voices to comment on the phenomenon. A former conservative talk show host in his native Wisconsin, Sykes was on the “Never Trump” train from the beginning, watching with horror as the orange-haired one won his party’s presidential nomination, then the office itself, then saw how members of the party managed to justify their support for a man he describes as “an utterly unqualified reality TV star.”

“The capacity of Republicans to rationalize their support appears to be bottomless,” says Sykes, whose forthcoming book, How the Right Lost Its Mind, is the political equivalent of the most frightening Stephen King novel you’ve ever read. “I am less horrified by Trump himself than by what he has done to the rationalizers and enablers. Why are you people defending this, why don’t you see what he’s doing to your own cause?”

Well, it may be about tax cuts, immigration, and other aspects of the conservative political agenda, but as Sykes, who is now a regular on MSNBC, says in the book, “after Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton, the Democrats need to perform an autopsy; the Republicans need an exorcism.”

Sykes see Trump as a symptom of forces that have thoroughly corrupted the GOP—celebrations of nativism and authoritarianism, while ignoring birthers, racists, and conspiracy theorists in its midst (say hi to Alex Jones and Matt Drudge), the toxic rhetoric of Fox News and right-wing talk show hosts, the politics of paranoia (again, say hi to Alex Jones and Infowars) and a conservative base that is now essentially post-literate.

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One person Sykes is definitely disappointed in—although they remain friends—is Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, whom he has known, and respected, for years. “I have said Ryan has struck a Faustian bargain,” says Sykes. “I think he is fundamentally decent, but is unwilling to take Trump on, and is willing to stay on his good side to get tax cuts. And he has made the calculation that as speaker he doesn’t have the independence to comment on every stupid tweet.”

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“Conservatives have to move from radical change agents to say, ‘How can we do no harm?’ How can we maintain prosperity without maintaining this massive gap in income inequality? We’re still stuck with ‘zombie conservatives,’ people who apply lower tax rates to every economic situation. Can we at least have policies that relate to conditions on the ground?”

Well, maybe. But Sykes doesn’t seem all that hopeful. In the short term, “more chaos and division.” The best-case scenario, he says, is the Republicans in Congress “strike out on their own, that Trump becomes irrelevant to their agenda.” And, of course, there’s the Mueller investigation wild card, which could lead who knows where.

But in the long term, Sykes is downright pessimistic. “I don’t see the Republican Party coming out of this intact,” he says. “Alienating women, minorities, and young people for a generation, you’re not going to be able to rub the stink off.”

" 'Individual conscience' means that women only get contraceptives if their employers, their physicians, their pharmacists, their husbands and/or fathers, pastors, and possibly their mayors, Governors, State Secretaries of Health, Congressmen, Senators, and President all agree that in that particular case they're justifiable." --D.C. Sessions

"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."

"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer

""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer

But in the long term, Sykes is downright pessimistic. “I don’t see the Republican Party coming out of this intact,” he says. “Alienating women, minorities, and young people for a generation, you’re not going to be able to rub the stink off.”

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GOP delenda est.

Pray for Trump: Psalm 109:8

"Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time - when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers arc in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”

— Carl Sagan
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
1995

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

— H.L. Mencken
On Politics: A Carnival of Buncombe

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

Continuing his campaign against the Republican elite, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon rallied for Sen. Jeff Flake’s (R-AZ) front-running challenger Tuesday evening, telling the crowd of rightwing activists that GOP establishment is going to “reap the whirlwind” and “that whirlwind is Kelli Ward.”

Throwing his weight behind Ward, a former state senator, is just one of several moves Bannon vowed to make in his “war” against at least 15 Republicans — who he called the “new aristocracy” — whose seats are up for reelection in 2018.

“It’s an open revolt and it should be. … We’re building a grass-roots army,” Bannon said at Ward’s campaign kickoff, Arizona Central reported. “These people hold you in total contempt. When they attack a Donald Trump and a Dr. Kelli Ward, it’s not Donald Trump and Kelli Ward that they’re trying to shut up. It’s you they’re trying to shut up. … They think you’re a group of morons.”

The one-term senator is considered to be one of the most vulnerable incumbents up for reelection after he refused to endorse or vote for Trump last year and published a book this summer criticizing Republicans for embracing Trump.

Reap. Sow. Repeat. In between cycles you can bemoan "What happened?" while accepting no responsibility for your own role. (Yes, Mr. McConnell. I'm talking to you as well as many others.)

" 'Individual conscience' means that women only get contraceptives if their employers, their physicians, their pharmacists, their husbands and/or fathers, pastors, and possibly their mayors, Governors, State Secretaries of Health, Congressmen, Senators, and President all agree that in that particular case they're justifiable." --D.C. Sessions

"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."

"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer

""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer

"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools." -- Herbert Spencer

"Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position." -- Bill Maher

"Our new Government['s] foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and moral condition." -- Alexander Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy

Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced his resignation from Congress on Thursday.

“Today, it is with a humble and thankful heart that I announce I will not be seeking reelection,” Tiberi said in a statement. “While I have not yet determined a final resignation date, I will be leaving Congress by January 31, 2018.”

“I have been presented with an opportunity to lead the Ohio Business Roundtable that will allow me to continue to work on public policy issues impacting Ohioans while also spending more time with my family,” he added.

" 'Individual conscience' means that women only get contraceptives if their employers, their physicians, their pharmacists, their husbands and/or fathers, pastors, and possibly their mayors, Governors, State Secretaries of Health, Congressmen, Senators, and President all agree that in that particular case they're justifiable." --D.C. Sessions

"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."

"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer

""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer

My gerrymandered Rep. It is also Kasich's old district when he was in Congress.

Pray for Trump: Psalm 109:8

"Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time - when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers arc in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”

— Carl Sagan
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
1995

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

— H.L. Mencken
On Politics: A Carnival of Buncombe

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

Dent was actually a loss. Possibly the last somewhat reasonable Republican left in Congress. Can't say I know much about most of the others.

I can no longer afford to think that way. Every Republican in Congress is one more that makes McConnell and Ryan possible and since they drive the agendas they are who truly matter. Dent is leaving because he's ineffectual and doesn't fit in with what the overwhelming majority of the GOP has become but if I was able to vote for or against him (I'm just a few miles from his district) I would still vote for the Democrat. If reasonable Republicans start replacing crazy ones then that's great but as long as the district / state is remotely competitive I will be rooting for the Dem. The majority is just too important for me to vote for a Republican just because I would possibly vote for them if things were normal. Republicans have studiously worked to create this abnormal world of their's and these forces will retain power over the GOP for a long time to come.

And that's why I must vote against their party every time.

" 'Individual conscience' means that women only get contraceptives if their employers, their physicians, their pharmacists, their husbands and/or fathers, pastors, and possibly their mayors, Governors, State Secretaries of Health, Congressmen, Senators, and President all agree that in that particular case they're justifiable." --D.C. Sessions

"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."

"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer

""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer

I can no longer afford to think that way. Every Republican in Congress is one more that makes McConnell and Ryan possible and since they drive the agendas they are who truly matter. Dent is leaving because he's ineffectual and doesn't fit in with what the overwhelming majority of the GOP has become but if I was able to vote for or against him (I'm just a few miles from his district) I would still vote for the Democrat. If reasonable Republicans start replacing crazy ones then that's great but as long as the district / state is remotely competitive I will be rooting for the Dem. The majority is just too important for me to vote for a Republican just because I would possibly vote for them if things were normal. Republicans have studiously worked to create this abnormal world of their's and these forces will retain power over the GOP for a long time to come.

And that's why I must vote against their party every time.

Right, the question is not do they sound less crazy when talking, the question is do they vote with their crazy party...

President George W. Bush spoke out Thursday about the state of American politics and denounced the bigotry that he said “seems emboldened” as of late. “People of every race, religion, ethnicity can be fully and equally American,” he said during an address at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas. “It means that bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed.” The former president also said that “our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.” Bush did not specifically name President Trump, whose many controversial, equivocating statements on racism have been credited with emboldening a new spate of white-supremacist activists.

" 'Individual conscience' means that women only get contraceptives if their employers, their physicians, their pharmacists, their husbands and/or fathers, pastors, and possibly their mayors, Governors, State Secretaries of Health, Congressmen, Senators, and President all agree that in that particular case they're justifiable." --D.C. Sessions

"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."

"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer

""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer

I can no longer afford to think that way. Every Republican in Congress is one more that makes McConnell and Ryan possible and since they drive the agendas they are who truly matter. Dent is leaving because he's ineffectual and doesn't fit in with what the overwhelming majority of the GOP has become but if I was able to vote for or against him (I'm just a few miles from his district) I would still vote for the Democrat. If reasonable Republicans start replacing crazy ones then that's great but as long as the district / state is remotely competitive I will be rooting for the Dem. The majority is just too important for me to vote for a Republican just because I would possibly vote for them if things were normal. Republicans have studiously worked to create this abnormal world of their's and these forces will retain power over the GOP for a long time to come.

And that's why I must vote against their party every time.

I didn't say I'd vote for him. I have never voted for a Republican in a national election (and only a very few times at any lower level) and at this point don't expect to in the foreseeable future, for all the reasons you gave. I said Dent's retirement is a loss. When the GOP falls apart, what will replace it? Something must, but there is no longer even a model. Even if the Democrats slid rightward a bit to make room for a new party on the left, there are many, many people who currently vote Republican who would never become Dems.

It's not as if the Republican Party lost the war of ideas. Instead, it abandoned that war for an unending grudge match based on tribal affiliation. If the GOP dissolves rather than changing, what's left for those people and their animus? The Constitution Party? The Libertarian Party? Neither would improve with a big infusion of ex-Republican voters.

One person Sykes is definitely disappointed in—although they remain friends—is Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, whom he has known, and respected, for years. “I have said Ryan has struck a Faustian bargain,” says Sykes. “I think he is fundamentally decent, but is unwilling to take Trump on, and is willing to stay on his good side to get tax cuts. And he has made the calculation that as speaker he doesn’t have the independence to comment on every stupid tweet.”

He lost me there. If Paul Ryan is his idea of a "fundamentally decent" person, there's not much else I can say about him.

The way a lot of catastrophes happen is that X doesn't occur because there are safeguards in place, therefore people assume X isn't a worry and they remove the safeguards. Then X happens.
— Nate Silver
"Robots aren't the problem. Capitalism is." -- Last words of Stephen Hawking.
These days, "libertarian" is just a euphemism for a Nazi who's afraid to commit.
"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." -- Heather Heyer
"I'd rather have my child, but by golly, if I gotta give her up, we're gonna make it count." -- Her mother
"Your purpose, then, plainly stated, is that you will destroy the Government, unless you be allowed to construe and enforce the Constitution as you please, on all points in dispute between you and us. You will rule or ruin in all events." -- some RINO

The way a lot of catastrophes happen is that X doesn't occur because there are safeguards in place, therefore people assume X isn't a worry and they remove the safeguards. Then X happens.
— Nate Silver
"Robots aren't the problem. Capitalism is." -- Last words of Stephen Hawking.
These days, "libertarian" is just a euphemism for a Nazi who's afraid to commit.
"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." -- Heather Heyer
"I'd rather have my child, but by golly, if I gotta give her up, we're gonna make it count." -- Her mother
"Your purpose, then, plainly stated, is that you will destroy the Government, unless you be allowed to construe and enforce the Constitution as you please, on all points in dispute between you and us. You will rule or ruin in all events." -- some RINO

I believe some of this is "I probably won't win" but I think some (and maybe even more) is hearing from one relatively semi-political friend or family member after another something like "how they hell can you stick up for this craziness and sleep at night?" People with shreds of decency and dignity (Kellyanne need not apply) get beaten down defending the indefensible.

" 'Individual conscience' means that women only get contraceptives if their employers, their physicians, their pharmacists, their husbands and/or fathers, pastors, and possibly their mayors, Governors, State Secretaries of Health, Congressmen, Senators, and President all agree that in that particular case they're justifiable." --D.C. Sessions

"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."

"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer

""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer